Disability Support

As part of its commitment to providing equal opportunities for all students, NCI offers a number of supports for disabled students.

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The National College of Ireland is committed to providing equal access to education and equal opportunities for students with disabilities. We believe the most important first step is to make sure that you can access supports in an open relaxed, friendly and confidential way. It is very important that students disclose a disability early in the academic year to ensure that necessary supports are provided. By delaying disclosure of a disability, students may be missing out on essential supports which can help with everything from participation in lectures right through to sitting exams.

We provide a number of useful services including the following listed below:

Needs assessment

A Disability Officer will work to address the specific support needs of students, prospective students with disabilities and staff as well. This includes arranging support providers, including note-takers, library assistants, proof-readers, personal assistants etc.

Help students to apply for funded supports through the ESF fund for students with disabilities.

Liaise with a number of departments across the college to make sure that your specific support requirements are met, for example, Academic Departments; Exams Office; Admissions Office; Library; and IT Department.

Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology plays an important role in reducing the impact of disability on the academic success of students. The key role of the Assistive Technology Officer is to provide training, back up and support for students with disabilities.

Assistive Technology is any device, piece of equipment, or software that can help reduce the negative impact of a disability on a student’s academic success. Some examples of assistive technology include voice recognition software, large print display software, Braille embossing, and modified keyboards, mouse etc.

Academic support

An essay support / proofreading service is provided to students with dyslexia. The purpose of this service is to assist with structure and presentation and to highlight errors in spelling and grammar. Essay support is not a tutoring service and does not assist with any issues relating to content. Please see Guidelines for Essay Support Service.

Library support

The key role of the Library is to support students to use all aspects of the library resources to maximise your academic success. Students with certain disabilities (e.g. hearing impaired, visually impaired, mobility difficulty, specific learning difficulty) may require specific additional supports to facilitate equal access to the same resources as other students. This is determined during your Educational Needs Assessment with the Disability Officer. Some of the supports available include:

Extended library loans

Access to electronic books

Print credit

Access to electronic readers

Adapted furniture

Fund for Students with Disabilities

The Fund allows for the provision of services and supports to full-time and part-time students with disabilities.